1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to computer systems and more specifically relates to an apparatus and method for detecting when a web page is bookmarked and taking appropriate action based on the bookmark information.
2. Background Art
Since the dawn of the computer era, computer systems have evolved into extremely sophisticated devices that may be found in many different settings. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware (e.g., semiconductors, circuit boards, etc.) and software (e.g., computer programs). As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer hardware higher, more sophisticated computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
Many modern computer systems are a complex combination of different hardware and software that are interconnected on a network. One network that has gained in importance and popularity in recent years is the Internet. A user typically accesses information on the Internet using a web browser that receives information in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). HTML is typically organized into “pages” of information, with various “elements” making up components on each page. When a user accesses a web page using a browser, a server computer system locates the HTML elements that make up the page and serves up the page to the requesting web browser.
A common feature in known web browsers is the capability of marking a page so the page can be easily retrieved in the future. In Netscape Navigator, this type of mark is known as a “bookmark”, and pages that are so marked are said to be “bookmarked”. In Microsoft Internet Explorer, a page may be added to a list of “favorites” for later retrieval. Regardless of the specific label, the ability of placing a web page on a list for later retrieval greatly enhances the convenience of using a web browser. For the purpose of convenience in explaining the present invention, the term “bookmark” is used to indicate that the user has taken action to retrieve the web page from a list at a later time, and such a page is said to be “bookmarked”. Other equivalent terms known in the art or developed in the future are expressly within the scope of the discussion herein.
Currently, code in a web page can be written in a script that is executed upon the occurrence of a specific event. One specific type of script is known as Java script, and known events include onPageLoad and onMouseOver. The onPageLoad event causes a Java script to be executed when a page is loaded. The onMouseOver event causes a Java script to be executed with the mouse (or pointer) is located in predefined areas of the web page. While these events are useful, there are currently no events that allow a web server to determine when a page is bookmarked. This information could be very valuable in advertising and in changing the presentation of a page based on whether the page was bookmarked or not. Without an apparatus and method for signaling when a page is bookmarked, the computer industry will not be able to distinguish between bookmarked pages and non-bookmarked pages, and will thus be forced to treat users with bookmarked pages the same as users who have not bookmarked a page.